A view of the Ministry of Employment and Labor building at Government Complex Sejong [Yonhap]
A view of the Ministry of Employment and Labor building at Government Complex Sejong [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Employment and Labor is bringing its Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters back under the same roof as the main ministry for the first time in five years, while the National Labor Relations Commission is relocating for the first time in 13 years.

The reshuffle reflects the government's push to elevate industrial accident prevention as a top policy priority — consolidating the safety headquarters within the main building to boost its institutional standing while moving the commission, a semi-independent body, to separate premises.

According to related ministries, the National Labor Relations Commission, currently housed in Building 11 of Government Complex Sejong, will begin a phased relocation this month.

Its mediation division will move first to the nearby Mbridge Building, while the remaining departments are scheduled to transfer to Building 4 of Government Complex Sejong by the second week of November. Building 4 became available after the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries relocated to Busan.

The commission has occupied its current location for about 13 years, having moved to Sejong in late 2013 alongside the Ministry of Employment and Labor and other government agencies.

The space vacated by the commission will be taken over by the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters — elevated to vice-ministerial rank — along with the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Review Committee and the Public Service Workers Committee, which is set to launch in September.

The safety headquarters moved out in 2021 to a building owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Bangok-dong, Sejong, due to space constraints at the main ministry building. It is now returning as part of an effort to strengthen the body's organizational standing and integrate its functions. The safety headquarters, the Public Service Workers Committee and other units plan to begin moving in after the commission's relocation wraps up in November, completing the transition by early December.

The reshuffle reflects the government's commitment to reducing industrial accidents as its foremost policy goal — positioning the safety headquarters at the front of the main building to sharpen policy momentum while giving the quasi-independent commission its own dedicated space.

[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

The National Labor Relations Commission faces space constraints at a time when its caseload has surged following revisions to the trade union law, with further organizational expansion expected.

The commission is pursuing a restructuring of its organizational chart next year, but the newly assigned Building 4 has a less efficient layout than its current premises — a factor that led to the decision to place the mediation division separately in a nearby building, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The establishment of a Seoul office was also left out of this round of relocations. Labor and management groups have long called for a Seoul hearing office, citing the burden on parties to major labor disputes who must travel from Seoul to Sejong.

The back-and-forth between Seoul and Sejong has drawn persistent criticism, particularly for mediations that stretch over many days. During the Samsung Electronics performance bonus dispute in May, both sides repeatedly made the trip to Sejong for mediation sessions, and some participants were reported to have spent nights at the commission's offices as talks continued day after day.

The need for the commission to return to Seoul or establish a Seoul office has been raised multiple times in the National Assembly, but budget and staffing constraints have so far prevented any concrete steps.


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